The Real Awakening - Book 2: Chapter 0: Prologue

Perhaps due to the storm, the sky had turned dark as though night was falling, despite it being not yet four in the afternoon. Layers upon layers of clouds formed a dense mass in the distance like an thick yet filthy old cotton blanket. It stretched out infinitely, enshrouding them with a suffocating pressure.

Not too far away was a broken-down white van that was shakily driving down the desolate mountain path.

Including the driver, the van held five people: three males, two females. They all sat quietly in their seats with either apathetic or unreadable expressions on their faces. No one spoke.

A trace of indescribable secrecy floated around the abnormal silence inside the van.

The sky darkened bit by bit as the downpour intensified.

The flurry of raindrops made pattering sounds as they swept across the car windows on both sides, making a clamour that was hard to endure. It was deafening and continued without end, like someone was moving a rusted saw back and forth next to their ears, agitating their hearts and sending their thoughts into turmoil.

This abrupt rain had already lasted for over four hours. No one remembered at what exact point it had started raining; all they recalled was that it had been a beautifully sunny scene when they had headed out in the morning. Who would’ve known that the instant they drove into the mountains, there would be thunder and lightning accompanied by strong wind and heavy rain? It was as if they had accidentally stepped into some ghost city.

And their van had already been driving for over ten hours. The engine that could not bear the heavy load was like a very aged horse, gasping for breath under the lightning’s threat. The tattered wheels skidded along the uneven mountain path every so often, and the gas level indicator on the dashboard now had a red light.

Everyone felt exhausted on this long and difficult journey.

Actually, this mountain was not very tall. One could see the top just from gazing upwards. The peak flickered in and out of sight under the dense mass of trees and the hazy curtain of rain, and it looked quite close by. However, for some reason, the public mountain road that twisted and turned as it stretched outwards seemed endless. Their van circled round and round on this precipitous and endless mountain path. Every time they thought they would arrive at the peak, they would turn around a bend, before soon arriving at another bend. This repeated over and over, never coming to a stop.

How could that be? Why isn’t there a single sign with directions on such a long and winding path?

Unlike usual, he had one hand holding the wheel and the other tiredly pinching the bridge of his nose. Ever since it had started raining, he had lowered the van’s speed. The swipers in front of them were busily shifting left and right. However, the rain on the windshield still poured down in torrents like a waterfall, blurring his vision.

Damn it, who was the one that first suggested coming out to this cursed place?

He inwardly cursed a few words, then swept a look over the four people behind him through the rearview mirror.

Curtain of Dreamshad her head against the glass window with her eyes shut. It was unclear if she had actually fallen asleep. Her long black hair rippled meekly past her shoulders together with the vibrations of the car, her delicate yet pale bare face quiet and serene. Catwoman next to her was chewing gum like she had been from the beginning. She wore large headphones, and one could faintly hear the noisy heavy metal coming from it. The girl had short hair dyed pale yellow and her fingernails were painted black. Her thick and heavy smoky makeup concealed her dispirited and worn-out expression.

Girls these days are really impossible to understand.

Impermanencebitterly smiled to himself. Then his gaze moved further back to land on the male with a crew cut that seemed to be called Straight Flush. At the moment, his head was lowered to focus on the cellphone in his hands, his thumbs constantly tapping on it. However, ever since the car had driven onto the mountain path, they had not had any signal, so they couldn’t send texts or access the internet. Maybe he’s playing some kind of meaningless game?

“Actually, it’s death either way. What difference does dying in a different location make….”

At this moment, a barely audible voice slowly appeared.

The person that said this was HikikomoriA. He was staring out the window with an empty and blank face. His voice was very quiet, to the point where it was completely drowned out by the pouring rain. No one could hear him at all. Impermanence only saw his lips move slightly in the mirror but did not know what the words spoken were.

Time continued to trickle on, minute by minute, second by second. Their car continued driving in repeated circles around the mountain path.

Impermanence’s grip on the wheel tightened further at the arduous topography in front combined with the wind and rain around him. A cold sweat broke out on his palms. He had driven so often over all these years, yet he had never once run into such a bizarre path before.

I wonder if everyone else has noticed the abnormality?

When he turned around the bend yet again, Impermanence apprehensively shot a glance at the side.

There was a half-burned wooden stake standing tall on the precipice next to them. To be accurate, it was originally a tree that must have been unfortunate enough to be struck by lightning on some day of some month during some year. The top part of the tree had fallen over the edge of the cliff after breaking off, leaving only the bare trunk rooted there. It was perfectly balanced as it just happened to lean over the very edge of the overhanging cliff.

The more Impermanence stared at it, the more cold sweat built up on his forehead.

How can this be, how many times has it been now? If I’m not mistaken, it’s sixteen or seventeen?

As he silently counted in panic, a clear voice suddenly rang out from behind.

“The nineteenth time.”

Impermanence jolted in fright. He eyed the source of the voice in the mirror and saw that Catwoman had at some point removed her headphones. She pointed at the half-broken tree trunk that flashed past the window and said, “See that? That tree trunk? I’ve already seen it nineteen times. It’s the exact same appearance, the exact same position.”

Next to her, Curtain of Dreams slowly opened her eyes.

Hikikomori A raised his head to look out the window in the direction of Catwoman’s finger and he asked in confusion, “What do you mean?”

“Ever heard of ‘running into ghost walls’1?” Catwoman continued to chew her gum as she shrugged and replied, “I’m afraid we won’t be able to leave. The car has been going in circles on the mountain path the entire time.”

“What? Going in circles?”

Hikikomori A was taken aback for a moment. Then he turned to glance towards the driving Impermanence for confirmation.

Impermanence let out a quiet sigh as he was forced to admit, “Yes. For some reason, no matter how I drive, the car keeps circling around the same place. I’ve also already seen that half-burnt tree many times.”

“What kind of joke are you trying to pull? Ghost walls? I fucking refuse to believe in such heresy!”

Straight Flush furrowed his brows in irritation as he spat out this profanity in a tone of disdain.

Everyone immediately fell silent.

Without uttering a word, Impermanence continued driving. The path in front of them seemed to be turning narrower. Originally, it could fit two cars, but now it had become wide enough to only easily fit one car. He had no choice but to drive more cautiously.

Soon afterwards, the storm gradually came to a rest. The muddy path remained slippery.

Someone had opened the car window. The freezing air immediately rushed in, filling the entire car.

Impermanence couldn’t help but shrink back from the cold. Even the warm breath coming from his mouth were now puffs of white mist. The white mist gradually rose and diffused out, blurring his vision before he even realised.

Wait, wait a second. White mist? No, there seems to be something wrong. No matter how cold it is, I should at most be breathing out hot air that would immediately vanish. How could it turn into such thick white mist?

Impermanence quivered, his eyes widening as he scanned his surroundings. He discovered that at some point, everything had already turned into a white haze.

A surge of mist? So in reality, it wasn’t that someone had opened the window just now, but that the cold mist got into the car? But-but isn’t this white a bit too sudden and too abnormal?

He picked up a cloth to wipe the windshield and switched on the front fans to try blowing the mist away. However, the more the fans blew, the thicker the white mist inexplicably became. It grew so dense that it was almost like a viscous liquid wrapping around his body. His vision that had already been extremely blurry was now completely covered.

Damn it! Now I can’t even see the road in front of me!

In his panic, he hurriedly slammed on the brakes. But no matter how he shifted his foot around, he couldn’t find the pedal!

What’s going on? The brake is obviously in front of me, so why can’t I step on it?

He instantly lost himself in panic. Just as he was about to look down to search, someone cried out in fear behind.

“Heavens! Quick, look there. What’s what?”

He reflexively raised his head and was immediately stunned, thinking that he was hallucinating. Thus, he rubbed his eyes hard and stuck his face against the glass to get a closer look—

Heavens, what in the world is that in front?

All he faintly saw floating amidst the white mist was a desolate, overgrown field. The field was covered in withered weeds that had grown unrestrainedly all over. And if he gazed a bit further, he saw what appeared to be several old-fashioned farmer homes…

Is that…actually a village?

B-but…that’s too absurd! This is the middle of the mountain, where did the village come from?

Could it be a hallucination? Or maybe a mirage?

Before he could ponder this more carefully in his shock, he suddenly felt the car violently shudder. It felt like the right rear wheel had slipped off the edge of the cliff. He made a sudden turn, but only heard a loud rumbling sound before the entire car suddenly tumbled down over its side. And below them was an endless abyss.

In that instant, everyone in the car screamed frantically in fear…